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PROCEEDINGS OF THE TWENTY-SEVENTH 

 ANNUAL STATE INSTITUTE MEETING. 



Monmouth, Illinois, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, February 

 22, 23 and 24, 1922. 



WEDNESDAY MORNING SESSION. 



February 22, 9 o'Clock A. M. 

 FRANK I. MANN, President Illinois Farmers' Institute, Presiding. 



Male Quartette Monmouth College 



Invocation Rev. J. R. McCtory 



PRESIDENT MANN: We will now have a greeting from the Mayor 

 of the city, Mr. Chester Smith. 



ADDRESS OF WELCOME. 

 (Chester Smith) 



I am always a little bit unhappy when they introduce me. I am always 

 afraid some day somebody will get up and tell the truth and say "We will 

 now have a few commonplace remarks from Monmouth. Let me introduce 

 the Mayor." 



I have no business up here particularly. When I go to speak I am apt 

 to lose my head a little. I am a good deal like that German they tell 

 about in the late war. One of the colored regiments were ready to go over 

 the top. One of the boys lost his place in the line. The order came to go 

 over the top. This fellow did not have his gun, his bayonet, his trench 

 knife or anything else, but he had to go over. He went over the top and 

 came face to face with a big German. There was just one thing he could 

 do reach for his razor and swing at him. The German says, "Missed me." 

 The colored man looked at him and said, "Just wait until you shake your 

 head and see whether I missed you or not." That is the way with me. 

 I lose my head at a time like this. 



I take it I am here in my official capacity as mayor of Monmouth to 

 tell you gentlemen how glad we are to have you as our guests in our town 

 for this very important conference. When we went after this convention 

 a year age we realized the importance of this institute, the advertising it 

 would give a town, the benefit it would give a community to have a repre- 

 sentative bunch of men such as you gentlemen are come to our town, and 

 we were all mighty glad when you decided to come. 



I suppose that I should tell you a little about our town. I am hoping 

 that you will find out in a better way, and that is by circulating around 

 and meeting our business people. We have a typical mid-western county 

 seat town of about nine thousand people, mostly retired farmers. Mon- 



